Get Peached!

Saturday night, I had the opportunity to attend the soft opening of Austin’s newest food truck: The Peached Tortilla.I had actually met the owner, Eric, a few months ago through my friend Rebecca, and was immediately enthralled by his “story”: he was a lawyer in St. Louis who gave up a job that was wearing him down in order to pursue a more creative, culinary passion.

That’s Eric. In motion.

Having discussed, at length, the ‘concept’ of his Mexi-Asian-Southern fusion truck when we met, I was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to try out every dish on the menu. Free food? I’m there. We basically stood in line, grabbed whatever Eric handed us, and then got back in line to try more.

After an hour, I had sampled every single dish, with the exception of the lone dessert (peach poppers), and the crunchy catfish, which I don’t think they were serving. [Or my skills of snatching were failing me...]Check out these bites of deliciousness….bbq brisket taco with jalapeno slaw and peach bbq sauce (above)….not to be confused with the bbq brisket slider (below)…same thing. different delivery.Not that they weren’t incredible. I actually said, “I didn’t think I liked brisket until I ate this.”

And then there was the banh mi slider….oh man alive, that was good. I actually starting talking while chewing because as soon as my tastebuds were enlivened by this richness I couldn’t hold in my happiness.It was composed of pork belly, pickled daikon and carrots, and a sriracha mayo. And it was phenomenal.chicken satay taco (above) with ginger-soy and peach marinated chicken, asian slaw, and coconut curry peanut sauce [That peanut sauce made my mouth happy.]szechuan veggie taco (above and below) with japanese eggplant, tofu, red peppers, and Asian slawThere was another veggie taco to be tried—southern squash taco made of “citrus-scented” summer squash and peppers, sweet onions, spiced pecans, and basil aioli [which you will recall is a fancy way of saying "awesome mayonnaise"]–which Miss Rebecca(mendations) got her hands on first…so we switched. Turns out I liked the squash and she liked the szechuan, so life was good for both of us. Aside from tacos and sliders, The Peached Tortilla also offers Belgian-cut french fries with perhaps four different dipping sauces (?) [I can't remember the exact number, but I know there was a truffled mayo of some sort and the "house specialty" peach mint sauce.]They were good. They were french fries. Perfect saltiness, but as usual I viewed them simply as a method for getting sauce into my mouth.

There was, however, one thing on the menu I had a special tie to, and could not WAIT* to try: pimiento cheese fries.*Although I did wait. For an hour and fifteen minutes. Until Eric got so frustrated with me constantly coming up to him asking if I could have them that he asked the chef to make me some.You know how I feel about pimiento cheese. Being a girl raised in the North who still gets confused and thinks she’s from the South, I constantly espouse the many good qualities of this cultural staple–”the peanut butter and jelly sandwich” of the southern states.

When I met Eric, however, and he told me he was opening a truck with food that had Southern influences, and I asked him if there would be pimiento cheese involved, he looked at me and said, “What’s pimiento cheese?”

Thus led to a 45 minute explanation of its preparation and use, during which I told him it MUST be on the menu or else he would fail miserably in his business endeavor (or something like that). This was followed by Eric taking it to the test kitchen, and the current existence of glorious fries soaked in a delicious, gooey, cheesy mess of mayo-based cheddary spiced goodness.

Please watch as I show you the best method of consumption. [Thank you to the exciting feature on my camera that allows for rapid-shooting that I finally decided to utilize.]Please note the guy in the Hawaiian shirt, clearly thinking, “Who is this crazy girl having pictures taken of her as she repeatedly eats french fries with her fingers in an entirely too dramatic manner?”

I don’t normally “advertise” for specific restaurants, but I’m suggesting you get yourself to Star Bar if you are in Austin and order some food from The Peached Tortilla.

Hey, I’m not above helping out a friend. Well, if not a friend, at least an acquaintance.** One who listened to me and put an inspired-by-Miss Smartypants dish on his menu (even if he didn’t name it after me as I demanded).

I also suggest you order those pimiento cheese fries. Just so I can prove I was right.

**Eric has since informed that we are friends, not acquaintances, as “pimiento cheese is now a tie that forever binds.” I assured him that I was simply attempting to distance myself from any threats of nepotism in my favorable review of his food. But you know, then I laughed at his message and wanted to share it with you. So what now? I’m friends with a food truck owner! I’m a real Austinite!